Rodney Miller Sr., the former chief executive officer at Schneider Regional Medical Center, goes on trial Tuesday on two federal charges of filing fraudulent and false tax returns, after U.S. Judge Curtis Gomez denied separate motions for continuances from both defense and prosecution.
These relatively minor federal tax charges are related to actions Miller took while CEO of Schneider that also led to multiple local criminal charges of fraud and conspiracy. (See related links below)
In the indictment [Rodney Miller Tax Indictment], the government alleges Miller filed 2006 and 2007 tax returns with the V.I. Internal Revenue Bureau that he knew were false. He reported total 2006 income of $265,000 and 2007 income of $256,000 but knew it was "substantially more," according to the indictment.
The two charges each carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller assigned public defender Gabriel Villegas to represent Miller, advised the former CEO of his rights and updated the terms of his release. He was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond and was forbidden to travel outside the Virgin Islands or the state of South Carolina, where he currently resides, without first getting permission from the court.
In May, Miller asked the court to declare the case a "complex tax case," and continue the trial from the July date it was then-scheduled for, to allow more time to prepare. U.S. District Judge Curtis Gomez denied the motion as "moot" or no longer relevant, in July, after the trial was continued for other reasons.
In July, Gomez set a trial date of Sep. 3.
On Aug. 8, Miller filed a motion asking Gomez to "reconsider" his ruling, which Gomez rejected Aug. 23.
On Aug. 12, the government asked for a continuance, saying both the accountants who prepared Miller’s 2006 and 2007 returns were unavailable until later in the month. Gomez rejected the motion Aug. 30.
The federal tax charges stem from local charges that Miller and top Schneider executives Amos Carty Jr. and Peter Najawicz defrauded Schneider Regional Medical Center of millions of dollars. Both previous trials ended in mistrials and the three parties are scheduled for a third V.I. corruption trial in October.
Prosecutors alleged Miller racked up almost $3.8 million by the end of his five years at the hospital, while Carty and Najawicz, who are accused of approving and making the payments, regularly received thousands more than the $80,000 salaries listed in their government payroll documents.
At the core of the case were two 2005 employment agreements for Miller – one that reflected the $150,000 salary listed on his Notice of Personal Action, which reflect what an employee’s position is and how much he or she is paid; and another that contained hundreds of thousands more in extra benefits that prosecutors argued Carty added without informing the hospital board.
The tax charges stem from the allegations in the local criminal case that Miller received large amounts of compensation from the hospital that was not reflected in his government employment paperwork. The IRS alleges Schneider did not report all of that income on his federal tax returns.
